Welcome Home
by veronica.toon.7
Summary: Post LK 2: Kiara's hunt suddenly gets interrupted when she finds that her brother and his Guard have come back home.
**I've realized that I've done a couple of stories relating how the Lion Guard might have disappeared during the second movie and/or how some of the characters we've seen in the series might had fit into the second movie, but I noticed I haven't done one explaining how the Guard might return back after the second movie's events.**

 **I own nothing. The Lion Guard, Lion King 2 and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

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The wind blew through the grass, creating waves over the savanna. The herds were all out grazing today, taking advantage of the clear day and the lushness of the foliage after the rainy season. And as such, while the herbivores took advantage of the plains today, the carnivores id as well.

A lone gazelle stood away from the rest of her herd, gorging on the untouched greenery that grew up to her knees this time of year. Unknowing to her, something hidden in the tall grass crouched down till her stomach nearly grazed the earth as she stalked quietly closer and closer to her.

The peach-furred lioness crept slowly up to the quadruped, hooved animal, claws already starting to come out of their sheaths to prepare to dig into the earth and propel her forward to catch the creature. One last tall tuft of grass stood in-between her and her prey. Through the thin spaces between the individual blades, she saw her goal, just big enough for her to be able to carry it home and show off to the rest of the pride.

She sank down until she was almost laying down in the grass. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the ignorant gazelle before her. Her hips crouched down and began to sway as her back legs prepared to launch her forward. Her breathing became still and silent as her heart beat heavily to push blood through her muscles and ignite the hunting instinct inside of them.

The twisted-antler creatures suddenly lifted its head up, its ears and eyes searching around as if it suddenly sensed the danger it was in. Now it was the time.

Before the deer could realize it and make its escape, Kiara let out a short, loud roar from her throat and shot forward. She leapt up, ready to pounce onto the antelope's back. Her claws extended fully to pierce and grasp onto the animal's hide as it would buck and try to get her off in an attempt to save its life. But Kiara would hold on and succeed in taking it down, taking its life to sustain hers and her friends and family's lives.

All of a sudden, instead of feeling the warmth of the antelope below her as she mounted it, another body smashed into her before she could reach it. She felt the air escaping painfully from her lungs as something thrusted into her chest. Her head tried to lean in towards her neck in order to cushion it from the fall, but she and the other creature were tumbling through the air, forcing her to roll backwards and it forwards into its face.

The sound of the antelope's footsteps as it ran away from the two predators stalking it was only part of the pain she felt as she found herself on her face on the hard ground while the other predator split off and landed some feet away from her on their back.

"Ouch! Hey," she called out as a small, throbbing feeling of pain made its way across her forehead and nose. She quickly lifted her head off the ground and dusted the dirt and small stones that clung to her fur. A growl escaped her throat as another wave of pain made its way across her face. She felt anger rushing over her and she was about to turn around and yell at the offender for spoiling her hunt, but before she could speak though, a voice beat her to it.

"Ack. Just my luck, though I probably should have seen this coming. First day I get back and I'm already failing at catching prey here again." Kiara's eyes widened at the familiarity at the tone and her head quickly flipped over her shoulder at the owner of the voice.

"Fuli?"

The feline facing away from her on her stomach suddenly perked up. Her ears swiveled behind her head, directed at the lioness behind her. A shudder passed through her light yellow body with several, dark brown large rosettes, curved circles and spots. The king cheetah swung her head around over her shoulder, her eyes meeting with Kiara's. A small gasp escaped Kiara's throat as she recognized the design, the heart on the forehead and the deep, forest green eyes of the fastest creature she had ever seen.

"Fuli," she asked again, getting onto her feet and turning around to look at her without straining her neck to do so. The king cheetah squinted at her before a sparkle of recognition flickered in her eyes.

"Kiara," she replied. A slow nod responded as Kiara began to smile at the adult cheetah who had last been seen in the Pridelands many years ago, when the both of them were adolescents. Fuli began to get up with a smile also gracing her face. Neither of them spoke as they took in one another after being apart for so very long. Before anyone of them could speak though, another voice beat them to it.

"Fuli!" Both pairs of eyes turned up to the sky where a speck of white was descending down the the ground. Pretty soon, a white egret with a crest of medium orange feathers had landed before Fuli and was speaking to her.

"Fuli! Thank goodness I found you. Are you hurt? I saw you smack into something and throw you back while that antelope escaped. Are you alright," he asked in a voice that sounded concerned and worrisome. Fuli sighed and shook her head.

"No, but there is someone you might want to see," she replied. The egret straightened up in shock and then quick swiveled his head over to the lioness behind him. Kiara gave a small wave as he flew back a couple of feet in surprise.

"Hello Ono."

"P-Princess Kiara! Or-or is it queen Kiara? Um, uh, your majesty, it is an honor to see you again after all these years," he said, spreading out his wings and dipping his head down in a sign of deep respect. A trace of rogue blossomed on each of her cheeks as he bowed.

"It's okay, Ono. I'm still not queen yet, so you don't have to address me as such, but it is nice to see you after so long." Her head looked up so she saw both of them. "Both of you."

"Affirmative, your royal highness," he said, causing both felines to shake their heads in mild irritation, yet also in playful annoyance.

"Ono! Is Fuli alright," came a sudden voice from beside the three, but this time it sent shivers down Kiara's spine and her fur standing on end. She heard several footsteps behind her slow down as they got close and her head slowly turned around as she already knew who they were.

A bright blue and white streaked honey badger and a grey hippo stood cautiously before her, taking glances behind her head to see if the two were fine, but Kiara wasn't focused on the either of them. Her light red eyes were staring stunned at the fully-grown, golden lion before her, staring just as shocked back at her.

His once single, red tuft on his head was now surrounded by a waterfall of red mane coming down to his chest and flowing over his shoulders like his father and grandfather before him. His deep-brown eyes held great wisdom and bravery in their depths from many years of experience, yet her own eyes were beginning to fill with tears which made her vision of him a bit blurry.

"Kiara," he asked softly, just above a whisper. His voice had deepened over the years, but it was still recognizable. The tone in his voice was something she'd never forget.

"Kion," she replied, just as audibly as his. Both siblings stared quietly at each other for moment, taking in the appearances of one another after many years of being apart. He had left the Pridelands with his guard to defend the lands of the evil that might threaten them while she remained in their homeland and grew up under the wing and teachings of their father, king Simba.

The silence between them hardly lasted a second, for soon both siblings had charged for each other and were now tightly grasping one another in their arms. Kiara began sobbing against his chest with her arms wrapped around his neck while Kion was shedding quiet tears of joy down her shoulders as he held her close.

"I missed you so much," she said, muffled against his fur.

"I know. I missed you too," he replied. His paw started rubbing comforting circles on her backside, giving her reassurance that he was there.

"It's been so long," she whispered and felt him nod on her shoulder. Beshte and Bunga had decided to leave the two alone, so they had went over to Ono and Fuli to get the facts straight.

"Too long." He started pulling away from her, beginning to feel some regret when she felt her arms tighten around him harder. He felt a shiver pass through his fur, despite it being midday and they were both in the sunlight. Kiara finally gave in and let him go, allowing them to see each other once more.

"You've grown a lot since I've seen you last," he commented, smiling a bit as he took in her appearance. She nodded and looked over him as well.

"I could say the same about you, little brother," she said in a teasing tone. He rolled his eyes, but still smirked.

"Ah yes. I see you still have the same personality when we were cubs." She mimicked his eye-rolling movement and shook her head.

"Things have changed since you were gone, Kion." She nodded her head over to the distance where the silhouette of Pride Rock could be made out. He took a gaze at his home for a long moment before turning back to his sister. "And so have I," she explained, straightening up a bit. He stared at his sister's face, as civil and serious as her tone of voice, much different from her high-and-mighty, over-him tone when they were cubs.

"Well then," he said as he straightened up as well, "guess you'll have to show me when we get home. Care to escort me home, your highness," he playfully teased, earning another eyeroll from her as she got up.

"It would be my pleasure, loyal second-in-command. Please follow after me, you knucklehead," she mocked. He grinned and followed after to her, both going into a playful run as they raced home. The rest of the guard would follow soon after or would come by the lair tomorrow after reconnecting with their loved ones and old friends.

Kiara had gone out today to catch her first prey but would come back with something much more to be proud about.

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 **I like to think if Kion did leave the Pridelands and then came back, he'd be a full adult with an appearance like his father and grandfather and he would still retain some of his playfulness, but also would had gained on his journey great wisdom and knowledge, much like how his grandfather was.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, I sure hope you enjoyed my story. Please leave a review with some feedback and please feel free to check out some of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7**


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